A New Friend

(DISCLAIMER: In a world where Gohan is born a girl, the events as they play out in Dragon Ball Z leading up towards the Android Saga are near identical. As a result, any minor differences in the timeline up until this point are not worth mentioning in the interest of saving time. Also the female Gohan in this story is meant to look almost identical to the male version in the actual series save for a few minor details to be sure.)

The story begins with Jan, a young boy around the age of 11 with dark hair, big bright blue eyes, a slender frame, and pale complexion. He rode his bike home from buying his mom milk, bread, and butter. After being chased by wild animals both to and from the store thus far, he was now less than a mile from his home. Just then, he noticed something falling from the sky. He can't quite make out what it is at first. But suddenly it crash lands just a few feet away from him, the force of which is so great he falls from his bike, and knocking over all the groceries he bought. He thinks to himself 'What the heck was that?' He looks down and notices a little girl with a slender build, and long dark hair; no older than himself; wearing a teal gi of sorts, and a white scarf.

Concerned, Jan asks "Hey. Are...are you okay?"

The girl groans as she lifts herself up off the ground. "Yea, I'm fine."

Confused and uneasy about what he's seeing, Jan exclaims "Wha-! But...you fell from the sky. Are...aren't you hurt?!"

The girl stands up, dusts herself off, and replies "No. Don't worry, I'm okay." She turns around, and the second Jan sees her face, he is overtaken. Jan has lived on the fringe of civilization his whole life and has never seen a girl his age until now. The girl now looks him in the eye and asks "Hey, is there something wrong?"

Stunned, Jan trips and falls backward. He then asks the girl "Wha...You...you're a girl, aren't you?"

"Uh...yea. So?"

"It's just that I...I've never seen a girl my age before."

Surprised, the girl asks him "Really?"

Jan nods his head "Mhmm. My mom says that if I ever meet a girl my age, I should be extra-nice and respectful to them no-matter what."

"Oh. Well, that's nice."

The Gohan notices the bike and the groceries lying on the ground. She asks the boy "Hey, is that stuff yours?" Jan nods and the girl replies "Sorry about that." She then helps Jan pick all the groceries back up. Afterwards, the girl asks "So, you seem like a nice boy. What's your name?"

Jan replies "I-I'm Jan."

The girl smiles. "I'm Gohan. Nice to meet you."

Up in the sky, a voice shouts "Gohan? That you down there? Come on! Lets go!"

Gohan replies "Coming, Dad!" She looks back at Jan and says "I gotta go now, Jan. See ya!"

As Gohan takes off from the ground, the boy is stunned. He thinks to himself 'Th...That girl can fly? Is...Is she an angel?' After a short pause, Jan snaps out of his trance. 'I gotta get home.' He grabs the groceries then gets back on his bike and rides off into the distance. Meanwhile, Gohan looks back in the other direction and thinks 'Hey, that boy was kind of cute.' Up until now, she has never met a boy her age with such an innocent disposition before. Gohan could not sense any ill intentions from Jan whatsoever.

Just then; her father, Goku flies up to her with Piccolo beside him, and asks "Hey Gohan, you wanna go another round or do you wanna take a break?"

Gohan thinks for a moment, then replies "We've been training for hours now, Dad. Might as well take a break."

"Okay, then. Last one back is a rotten egg!" Goku flies ahead.

Then Piccolo yells "IS THAT A CHALLENGE?!" Then Piccolo flies off.

Upon arriving at home, Jan opens the front door to his mother's cottage. As he enters, Jan calls out "Mom, I'm back!"

Just then; Jan's mother, a beautiful young looking woman, walks over to Jan. She says to him "Good boy, Jan. You got the groceries. Did you get hurt along the way?"

Jan smiles and replies "No. I'm okay."

Jan's mother is a woman of pale complexion with bright blue eyes; the same as her son. She looks down and she sees a scratch on her son's arm. Concerned, she asks him "Jan, what happened to your arm?"

Jan replies, "It's just a scratch. No big deal."

"Well, You're just a little tough guy, aren't you? Here let me get you a Band-Aid." Jan's mom finds a clean Band-Aid and places it on the scratch mark. "There you go. All better." Then she kisses her son on the forehead.

Moments later, in the kitchen, Jan sits at the table as he is about to be served lunch. "Um, Mom?"

"Yes, honey?"

"I-I met someone new on the way back."

"Oh did you?"

"Yea, It was a girl."

Jan's mom looks at her son and smiles "A girl? Really?"

"Yes."

"Oh. What was her name, sweetie?"

"Uh...Gohan. Her name was Gohan."

"Gohan? You mean like that girl who lives just down the road from here?"

Jan is surprised "Wait. You know her?"

"Yes. She's a very smart girl. She always does her homework, and her parents are nice people too."

"I wish I could go to school."

"I know, sweetie. I know."

Years ago. when Jan was little more than an infant, his father mysteriously vanished. Nobody knows for sure what happened to him, but by now he's presumed to be dead. Over the years, Jan's mother has had to sell off most of her land only just to get by. As a result, Jan was unable to get past kindergarten, and was forced to drop out of school. However, this setback did not seem to interfere with Jan's desire to learn. While his mother offered him assistance every now and again; for the most part, Jan taught himself how to read and write.

Jan's mom is also an amazingly good cook. She is sure to provide a perfect balance of meat, fruits, and veggies for the young boy. The moment she places the food in front of Jan, he pigs out; wolfing it down in less than a minute and not leaving out a single vegetable. Once he's done, Jan calls out "More please."

At the Son house, Goku chows down at the dinner table, and Piccolo is outside meditating. Gohan is at the dinner table as well. After finishing her first bowl of food, she says "Hey, Mom?"

Chi-chi responds "Yes hon?"

"I met somebody new today while I was out training."

"Oh did you?"

"Yea. It was a little boy, about my size."

"Oh? What was his name?"

"His name was Jan."

Chi-chi turns around and looks at Gohan. "Jan? You mean like that little boy who lives down the road?"

"You know him?"

"Oh yes. He's very sweet. Always goes out of his way for his Mom." Gohan's mother lets out a sigh. "It's a shame though."
"How so?"

Chi-chi sighs again "See, his father passed away when he was only a baby."

"Aww."

"And it doesn't help that his mom is struggling just to make ends-meet."

Just then, Goku holds out his empty bowl and calls out "More please."

The next day; Goku, Gohan, and Piccolo resume their training. Meanwhile Jan is playing in the backyard of his home. Before long, however, he begins to stray too far. Then as Jan attempts to cross a river while walking on a log, he falls into the river. as he pokes out of the water to get some air, he lets out a scream. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

At that moment, Gohan, Goku, and Piccolo hear Jan's cry for help. Gohan exclaims "It's...Jan!"

Recognizing the situation, Goku exclaims "Gohan, you've got to save him! We'll finish up here!"

"Right!"

Gohan rushes over to Jan's location, as the water pushes him towards a waterfall. As Jan's head pokes out of the water again, he lets out another scream. "SOMEBODY! PLEASE!" Gohan dives into the water and flies out holding Jan. By that time, the boy was whimpering. As he opened his eyes and realized that he was safely out of the water, he thought to himself 'I-I'm alive?'

As Gohan set him down on the ground, she asked the boy "Are you okay?"

As soon as Jan looks Gohan in the eye, he cries out "You...you saved me! You...you ARE an angel!" Then he embraces her.

Mildly embarrassed, Gohan gently pushes Jan away and says "Woe. Take it easy." Just then, the girl looks into Jan's eyes and is awestruck by what she sees. The look on Jan's face is so innocent, Gohan thinks to herself 'He looks so...so sincere.'

After a short pause, Gohan says "Come on, then. Let's get you home, Jan."

As they both stand up, Jan says "Okay."

"So where do you live? I can fly you there."

"Uh..." Jan points in a specific direction. "Uh, down that way."

"Alright, just hang on tight."

Gohan grabs hold of Jan and takes off. As Gohan and Jan soar high above the trees, Jan looks down and begins to whimper. Gohan says to him "Don't be scared, dude. We're almost there."

"D...dude?"

(In the end, Gohan manages to get Jan back to his mother safe and sound. However with the Android threat fast approaching, Gohan resumes training with her father and Piccolo. Stay tuned for Episode 2.)